2021 NEPSAC Spring Magazine

NEPSAC News ®

NEW ENGLAND PREPARATORY SCHOOL ATHLETIC COUNCIL

The art — and craft — of lacrosse SPRING 2021

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In this issue

New England Preparatory School Athletic Council President George Tahan Belmont Hill School Vice-President Martha Brousseau Greenwich Academy Secretary Ryan Frost Cardigan Mountain School Treasurer Jim Smucker Berwick Academy Co-Directors of Championships Lisa Joel Phillips Andover Academy Bob Howe Deerfield Academy Jamie Arsenault New Hampton School Director of Classifications Mark Conroy Williston Northampton School Coordinator of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lamar Reddicks Milton Academy Past Presidents Bob Howe Deerfield Academy Jamie Arsenault New Hampton School Mark Conroy Williston Northampton School Richard Muther St. Paul’s School Middle School Representatives Amber Kuntz Beaver Country Day School Rob Feingold The Fay School District I Representatives Stefan Jensen Hyde School Nan Hambrose Kents Hill School District II Representatives Matt Lawlor Brewster Academy Tara Brisson Tilton School Ryan Frost Cardigan Mountain School District III Representatives Rob Quinn Berwick Academy Betsy Kennedy Pingree School Jen Viana Cushing Academy Rick Forestiere Thayer Academy District IV Representatives Geoff Barlow Avon Old Farms School Rob Madden Taft School John Egan Christian Heritage School Tauni Butterfield Greens Farms Academy Communications Specialist Laurie Sachs The Rivers School “NEPSAC” and the NEPSAC logo are registered trademarks of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council and may not be used or displayed without permission.

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A player’s perspective informs Vinnie Ricasio’s artwork

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Brimmer symposium focuses on women’s sports equity

27

J im McClane, “Boy Wonder” and Olympic medalist, dies at 90

31

oston Pride are 2021 Isobel B Cup Champions

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orcester’s Dee Rowe W Remembered Fondly

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23

Field Yates takes a seat at

ESPN

idney Baptista is changing S his community — with running

reenwich Country Day G announces largest gift

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utrition Myths — Diet Trends N from TrueSport

K ena Gilmour Named NCAA LBGTQ Athlete of the Year

Departments 4 Around NEPSAC

12 Laurels

44 #ICYMI

New England Preparatory School Athletic Council qualifies as a public charity under Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3).

ON THE COVER: Custom artwork by Vinnie Ricasio

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AROUND NEPSAC

President’s Letter George Tahan Belmont Hill School

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he start of the spring season is always an exciting time of year. Schools come out of the long winter season and start their sprint toward the end of the school year. At NEPSAC we ended the winter season with a series of updates including: »» Corrected Peg Dates (NEPSAC Directory - page 24 ) »» SMAC Recommendation update regarding face coverings »» Cancelation of NEPSAC Spring Championships »» REMINDER: NEPSAC Spring Business Meeting & DEI Webinar, Thursday April 15

As it turns out, we had a number of typos in the peg dates listed on page 24 of the NEPSAC Handbook and Directory. The correct dates are highlighted in yellow below: YEAR 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

FALL 11/14/20 11/13/21 11/12/22 11/11/23 11/9/24

WINTER 2/27/21 2/26/22 2/25/23 2/24/24 2/22/25

SPRING 5/22/21 5/28/22 5/27/23 5/25/24 5/24/25

We continue to work toward moving to an online Directory in the future that can be updated throughout the year. Such a Directory would allow us to make corrections, such as these, and additions in real time. Until then, we will continue to provide you with updates and corrections via email.

We also heard from the NEPSAC Sports Medicine Advisory Council (SMAC) who provided an updated statement/ recommendation regarding face coverings to replace their original statement/recommendation, which spoke only about recent hockey mask face coverings. They have updated their recommendation to speak more broadly about face coverings in general. They now recommend the use of a CDC compliant face covering, while also defining it in their statement/recommendation.

(Also posted at www.nepsac.org/page/3441) The NEPSAC Executive Board also determined that it would be prudent to cancel all NEPSAC Championship events for the 2021 spring season. As was the case in the fall and winter, the majority of NEPSAC leagues and schools are not playing traditional spring schedules, which contributed to the decision. The Board felt that any NEPSAC Championship events held would not have enough membership participation to merit holding the events. Further, NEPSAC championship events continue to remain untenable as the several states that span NEPSAC’s membership continue to each have different pandemic regulations governing participation in athletics, travel, and gathering in large groups. The Board again also wanted to create maximum flexibility for schools for the spring

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with respect to any scheduling they may undertake. By canceling spring championships, schools were freed up to schedule any spring contests as they see fit, including using any and all spring dates without having to set aside dates for spring NEPSAC Championship events. Further, the decision removed the pressure on member schools with respect to the potential hosting of spring championships.

Finally, The NEPSAC Executive Board met to discuss the 2021– 2022 school year. The Board made the following determinations pertaining to the 2021–2022 school year with respect to NEPSAC policies and championships. »» All NEPSAC member schools will return to following and adhering to all NEPSAC policies for the 2021-2022 school year. All COVID-19 related policy changes made during the 2020-2021 school will no longer be in effect. More specifically, the NEPSAC Out of Season Coaching Policy as stated in the NEPSAC Handbook & Directory, page 18, will be back in effect and strictly enforced for the 2021-2022 school year. »» All NEPSAC championships will be resumed for the 2021-22 school year.

As you may recall, the basis for expanding and adjusting our rules and policies for the 2020–2021 school year was to create flexibility for schools that were dealing with modified schedules and programs due to the ongoing pandemic. Please know that if your school decides that its athletic program will be operating under modifications in the 2021–2022 school year, including but not limited to, a modified schedule, you may appeal to the NEPSAC Executive Board for an exception to allow for those modifications if they are outside of normal NEPSAC policies and procedures. That said, please be advised that if your school should avail itself of this appeal process and be granted an exception from any normal NEPSAC policies, your school will be ineligible for NEPSAC post season play for the 2021–2022 school year. NEPSAC post-season play in the 2021–2022 school year will only be available to those full time member schools that comply with all NEPSAC policies without exception.

In closing, as we get closer to putting this year, and all its challenges, in our rear view mirrors, I hope as people look toward the 2021–2022 school year they are excited to get back to what NEPSAC does best. That includes providing a level playing field for all our schools to compete with one another in interscholastic athletics and providing opportunities to compete in NEPSAC championship events. Our return to our normal NEPSAC policies in 2021–2022 will provide our member schools with just that. I want to thank all of you for continued understanding and support of NEPSAC during these challenging times. As always, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. I look forward to our spring NEPSAC Business Meeting (remote) on Thursday, April 15. Look for more details soon. I wish everyone a healthy and happy spring season.

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TREASURER’S REPORT

NEPSAC Calendar

Online Payments and Bank Transfers

by Jim Smucker, Berwick Academy, NEPSAC Treasurer

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HANK YOU for your efforts and patience during this challenging year. I am hopeful that with transparency and communication we will continue to improve the payment process for NEPSAC, and support our sport treasurers and member school’s athletic directors.

Reminders

For sports that collected Coaches Association dues for the 2020– 2021 school year and did not have a season, these dues will be applied to the 2021–2022 season.

Dues collected for 2020–2021: »» For the fall, XC/Track and Football collected dues. »» For the winter and spring, all sports collected dues. »» Online payments can be made here: https://nepsac.cr3. rschooltoday.com/public/home

Online Payment Account

Note: All meetings are subject to change based on COVID-19 regulations and may be held via Zoom.

APRIL 1 | Middle Schools Fay School (10:00 a.m.)

15 | Remote Business Meeting (10:00 a.m.)

20 | District III TBD (11:00 a.m.)

29 | District II TBD (9:00 a.m.)

MAY 4 | Executive Board at TBD (8:00 a.m.)

18 | District I Hebron Academy (10:00 a.m.)

2020 NEPSAC Buyers Guide

For efficiency and to help with our record keeping, we ask that you only create one online account per school.

Coaches’ Associations Banking Transfers

Now Completed: Football, Girls Soccer, Volleyball, Boys Ice Hockey, Girls Ice Hockey, Alpine Skiing, Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball and XC/Track.

If you have any questions or need any assistance please reach out to Jim Smucker.

To Be Completed: Field Hockey, Boys Soccer, Wrestling, Swimming/Diving, and Boys Tennis. NEPSAC anticipates moving forward with transferring these accounts to TD Bank during the 2021–2022 season so that these Associations can comply with NEPSAC’s 501(c)(3) status and making transfer of money easier for all involved.

Jim Smucker will be in touch with those Treasurers and President to begin the process.

COMMUNICATIONS NOTE The NEPSAC AD email list is updated throughout the year. Please remember to check for the most recent version before sending an email blast.

You will find it in the Athletic Directors section of the NEPSAC website. www.nepsac.org

W

e are proud to present the first-ever NEPSAC Buyers Guide featuring vendors that support NEPSAC and typically attend our Annual Meeting each year.

We hope you will consider using the vendors that supported this effort when making your purchases throughout the year. Thank you!

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AROUND NEPSAC

From the Archives

The Frederick Gunn School In 2020 The Gunnery changed its name.

You can read about it on their website; meanwhile here is a little bit about their founder and namesake, Frederick Gunn.

F

rederick Gunn was an early proponent of athletics and physical exercise as an essential component of a successful educational curriculum and character development. Every Gunnery scholar had to belong to a baseball “nine,” as the teams were called.

Students played an early form of hockey, called “shinney,” and a form of football that more closely resembled rugby.

Mr. Gunn particularly enjoyed baseball and Clarence Deming, Class of 1866, who went on to become a sportswriter of some note, reflected on his athletic ability in “The Master of The Gunnery,” writing: “He played thrower and catcher with equal facility, and he was famous for the unerring precision with which at long distances he hit the base-runner.”

Gunn Scholar Mark Rhoads ’04 brought to light how important baseball was to The Gunnery through his research on the first photograph of a baseball game in progress, now held in the Paula and George Krimsky ’60 Archives and Special Collections. Mr. Gunn appears in the photograph (right), which was taken on August 4, 1869, during the first Gunnery alumni reunion and was featured as the frontispiece of Ken Burns’ book on baseball.

The first known photograph of a baseball game in progress

The first team of nine was established even earlier, in the 1850s. They played on the village green.

Also playing for Gunnery in that “grand” match in 1869: John Brinsmade, an alumnus who was at that time in college but would later marry Fred and Abigail’s daughter, and become the school’s second headmaster. Writing in the Stray Shot in June 1908, Brinsmade said: “Baseball, the national game, was played here as early as in any place, outside of a few large cities … The Gunnery was playing the national game with out-of-town clubs before Yale and Harvard had begun their matches.”

The Gunnery was among the first of the Yankee Future headmaster William Hamilton Gibson, bottom right, villages to adopt played baseball for Gunnery in 1899.

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Baseball team, 1871

the “New York” game governed by the Knickerbocker rules due to the school’s connection with the Van Cott family. Judge William H. Van Cott was President of the National Association of Baseball Players and played professionally for the New York Mutuals from Mount Vernon. His three boys, Daniel, William Jr. and Leonard, were students at The Gunnery in the late 1850s. All three played baseball and Daniel started as a shortstop in the first alumni weekend game versus New Milford, depicted in the 1869 photograph (top).

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NEPSAC Announces Partnerships with Two Sports Organizations

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he New England Preparatory School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) is proud to announce a partnership with TrueSport®, a youth sports values-based program powered by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the country’s most trusted guardian of sport dedicated to preserving the integrity of competition at every level. The TrueSport mission is simple and bold: to change the culture of youth sport by providing powerful educational tools to equip young athletes with the resources to build life skills and core values for success – both on and off the field. With a vision that sport can enrich the lives of our young people, TrueSport partners with organizations across the country that are driven to change sports culture for the better. Founded on the three cornerstones of sportsmanship, character building and life skills, and clean and healthy performance in sport, the TrueSport mission closely aligns with NEPSAC’s basic principle that the lessons learned from fairly played athletics, whether interscholastic or not, and including games and practices, are of benefit to our students and our schools.

Through this partnership, NEPSAC will share TrueSport’s content and resources throughout the membership building upon TrueSport’s passion for inspiring the next generation to be great leaders and good sports, by learning valuable life lessons on and off the field.

“Partnering with TrueSport is extremely exciting for NEPSAC. Their ability to provide our membership with valuable program and professional development on a regular and on-going basis in support of NEPSAC’s fundamental values of sportsmanship and cooperative goodwill is something that I know will serve our membership incredibly well,” said George Tahan, NEPSAC President. “I know I speak for everyone at NEPSAC when I say, we can’t wait to get started!”

The TrueSport content program allows partners to expand their educational offerings to their membership on topics that are most relevant to them. “We work diligently to create informative content, backed by expert research, to address the issues that face youth sport today,” said Dr. Jennifer B. Royer, Senior Director of TrueSport and Awareness. “With lessons, coaching education, articles, and videos, we want to ensure that members of the sport community are able to foster positive youth sport experiences that empower their young athletes to make good choices on and off the field. We look forward to supporting NEPSAC and their member schools.”

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he New England Preparatory School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) is excited to announce a new partnership with the Bay State Games. NEPSAC and Bay State Games both hope this partnership will help share athletic and educational opportunities to every high school student-athlete in Massachusetts.

“We at NEPSAC are thrilled to be able to partner with the Bay State Games and help afford NEPSAC student-athletes with additional opportunities to participate in a number of sports and event offerings,” said George Tahan, NEPSAC President.

“NEPSAC’s principle purpose aligns seamlessly with the Bay State Games mission of ‘promoting personal development, education, physical fitness, teamwork, and sportsmanship’ and we at NEPSAC look forward to long and rewarding relationship.”

Offering opportunities to compete in Bay State Summer and Winter Games events, Future Leaders Scholarship Program, High School Ambassador Program, and Sportsmanship Program as well as coaching opportunities for high school coaches is the goal of this partnership.

“Ensuring that all high school student-athletes in Massachusetts are aware of and have access to all Bay State Games programs is an important goal of our organization,” said Executive Director, Kevin Cummings. “The collaboration with the NEPSAC will help us achieve this goal and highlight the outstanding athletes, coaches, and administrators from both organizations.”

Got news to share with other NEPSAC schools?

Are congratulations in order for a student, coach or team?

Send the details to communications@nepsac.org and we’ll put it in the next issue.

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AROUND NEPSAC

In this winter of physical distancing, many NEPSAC schools returned to their hockey roots. Some built temporary outdoor rinks on green spaces and tennis courts; others took advantage of nearby ponds and lakes.

This page, clockwise from top right: Belmont Hill School, Fenn School, Fay School

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AROUND NEPSAC

Clockwise from top left: Eaglebrook School, Deerfield Academy, Cardigan Mountain School, Berkshire School

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2021 BAY STATE SUMMER GAMES COACHING OPPORTUNITIES

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Coach Duran Awarded M.D. Nadal Award for Sportsmanship

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his year at Thanksgiving Vespers, the entire Ethel Walker School community had the chance to celebrate Coach Mimi Duran as she accepted the M.D. Nadal Award for Sportsmanship given annually by heads of school and athletics directors from the Founders League, an athletic league of eleven independent schools from Connecticut and eastern New York.

Instead of quietly presenting the award to Coach Duran earlier this spring while the students were in distance learning, the whole community took the opportunity to celebrate Coach Duran’s accomplishments while all of the students were on campus and before they returned home for holiday break.

Coach Duran is a member of the Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame and boasts a 304155-40 record over the course of her coaching career. On November 2, 2019, she marked her 300th win in a 4-0 victory against Wilbraham and Monson Academy. In her 13 years coaching at Walker’s, Coach Duran always put her athletes first, whether on the field or off. She goes to great lengths to be sure her teams have adequate time and activities together, such as team dinners, pumpkin carving and outdoor adventures, to bond both on the field and off. Many of her field hockey players go on to play Division I, II and II at the college level with some also embarking on coaching careers of their own using the wisdom and mentorship of Coach Duran.

During her 35 years of coaching, Coach Duran has been named Coach of the Year by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association (CHSCA) and she was selected to the Northeast Women’s Hall of Fame. Under Coach Duran’s guidance, Walker’s has won the Connecticut Independent School Athletic Conference (CISAC) League and tournament titles every year from 2007-2014 as well as being named Class C champions n the Western New England Preparatory School Field Hockey Association for four years, including the three most recent seasons.She also has taken her team to the New

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England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) tournament in eight seasons, including every year since 2014. In addition to all of the work that Coach Duran does with her team here Mimi Duran is awarded the M.D. Nadal Award for Sportsmanship in Simsbury, she has daughter Keeley ’18 who plays for Hamilton taken them on national and international trips College and Lexi King ’17 who plays at Brown including taking three teams to play in Europe.

University and was selected for the AAU Junior Coach Duran currently has six players Olympics gold medal-winning team. competing at the collegiate level, including her

Retired Coach Honored in History of ’Wick Squash

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History of Squash at Brunswick School, a new book written by Rob Dinerman, chronicles the rise of the school’s squash program under longtime coach Jim Stephens.

Dinerman has written about squash at the high school and college level, including histories of squash at Harvard, Princeton, Episcopal Academy, Deerfield Academy, and St. Paul’s School. He has published two squash-anthology volumes and wrote Chasing the Lion, a prepschool memoir about his years at Phillips Exeter Academy, and co-authored The Sheriff of Squash: The Life and Times of Sharif Khan.

“I had been wanting to write a book about Brunswick squash, but people at the school felt it would be better to wait until Jim Stephens retired,” Dinerman said. “He was such a unique coach in that he was not in any way authoritarian toward his players. He is very even-keeled, very patient, but what I most see in him is his basic decency.

“This book is dedicated to him and is really a tribute to him.”

Stephens was a recipient of the 2014 U. S. Olympic Committee National Coach of

the Year Award and was a NEISA 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree. He retired last spring after serving as Brunswick’s squash coach and as a math teacher from 1985–2020.

The 117-page book details the rise of the Brunswick program from a program lacking their own facilities to the national power it is today.

Along with the written history, the book contains team photos, photos taken by Greenwich Time and other news outlets, and an Appendix of Brunswick squash statistics.

Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of A History of Squash at Brunswick School should contact Libby Edwards at ledwards@brunswickschool.org.

NEPSAC News | Spring 2021 | 13

SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST IS THE #1 KILLER OF STUDENT ATHLETES.

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SOUTH KENT SCHOOL | SOUTH KENT, CONNECTICUT

Art, Sport and Life Entwined for Vinnie Ricasio SPONSORED BY SPORTSGRUB

by Bob York

Vinnie Ricasio brings a player’s perspective to his original lacrosse-themed art

T

he elderly woman couldn’t contain her curiosity as to the peculiar-looking stick the youngster in the adjacent seat was holding. It was three to four feet long with one end bound in tape, serving as an obvious handle. It was the other end that caught her attention, however. It featured a webbed pocket and caused her to ask the young traveler, “are you catching butterflies on the subway?”

Nope, not even close. It was just Vinnie Ricasio making his way to school via the New York City Subway System — and it was the business end of his lacrosse stick that had his fellow traveler bewildered.

Back in the late 80s, back when Ricasio was attending the St. David’s School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City — the city that Frank Sinatra claims “never sleeps” — hadn’t awakened as yet to the sport of lacrosse. And so, as Ricasio made

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the daily trek from his home in Brooklyn to St. David’s, it’s not surprising that the distinctive stick he was carrying would lead to double takes and queries from the hometown crowd.

It was the same-ol’-same-ol’ after school, too, as gazes of bewilderment from fellow New Yorkers would shadow Ricasio during a brief stroll down East 89th Street, where he would work on his game in the shadow of the Guggenheim Museum, one of the most renowned art galleries in the world.

“The museum was undergoing a remodeling and I’d go down there after school and play wall ball off a concrete slab next to the building … it was a great way to improve my passing and catching skills,” said Ricasio, whose entire life, ironically, has become entwined in both cultures: lacrosse and art. In fact, his life has become so entangled in the two he is the founder, CEO and creative director of a graphic arts business in Pelham, N.Y., he aptly

NEPSAC News | Spring 2021 | 15

Ricasio in goal for his final game at South Kent in 1996

named “The Art of Lax.” The company creates generic and custom lacrosse-themed art, design and new product development and sells items to lovers of lacrosse throughout the world.

“After going down to the Guggenheim over a period of time, a security guard saw me one day and told me to get off the museum property,” said Ricasio, whose artwork is purchased for private home and office décor as well as for end-of-season awards and graduation gifts. “So, I had to start looking for another spot to practice and finally found an abandoned handball court on East 96th Street,” added Ricasio, who, less than a decade later would be playing lacrosse at South Kent School in South Kent, Conn., where he spent his junior year helping the Cardinals lacrosse team chalk up the 1995 New England Small School Championship.

Ricasio spent that (11–4) season — which culminated with a 16– 10 win over Providence Country Day School in the title tilt — wearing two helmets: one as a defenseman, the other as a goalie.

“The coaching staff began grooming me as a goalie late in my sophomore year,” explained Ricasio. “We had an outstanding goalie who was a year ahead of me and so the staff realized early on that when he graduated after the 1995 season they’d need someone ready to go for the 1996 season.”

“Nobody loved the game more than Vinnie,” said Rich Brande, the South Kent head coach. “Back in the 80s, you didn’t find many lacrosse players, but Vinnie was all about the game all year long and he has proven throughout the years to be an outstanding ambassador of the game.

“He was as skilled with a stick as he was with a pencil or a brush,” added Brande. “In fact, I’d rank him as one of the best

16 | NEPSAC News | Spring 2021

players I’ve ever coached as far as stick skills were concerned. And when it came to his drawings, I think the response he received on his drawings from his teammates supplied the impetus for him to decide to go on to art school and to what he’s done so eloquently for the past 20 years.”

“Being a goalie made me learn how to endure and work hard with other people and because goalie is such a scary position, it allowed me to be unafraid of things when I went into the workforce, especially when starting a business,” said Ricasio. “And I also want to credit and highlight lacrosse for making me the artist that I am today … not my art school.

“In looking back, I’m proud of what I’ve done and I tell others that I wouldn’t have a career as a professional graphic artist, designer and new product developer if it weren’t for lacrosse,” added Ricasio. “I owe this sport more than just a career, which is why I’m still heavily involved in it and intend to be until my body tells me otherwise.”

Ricasio’s move between the pipes at South Kent was viewed in a positive manner by his Number One fan: his mother.

“My mom thought it was a great move,” quipped Ricasio. “She was never too keen on the idea of me running around out there on the field where everyone was swinging their sticks all over the place. She felt it could be a little dangerous … she felt it would be a lot safer for me playing in goal.”

The move gave Ricasio a whole new perspective of the game — but not a particularly safer one, considering opponents are heaving a small, hard ball at you and some may be approaching you at close to 100 miles per hour. So, in 2018 he penned an article titled “Life Lessons of a Lacrosse Goalie,” which contained numerous assessments of the position. Among lessons learned concerning the pain a goalie often endures, Ricasio used a quote he put in bold print and credited it to Trevor Tierney, a former AllAmerican goalie at Princeton University and former Major League Lacrosse All-Star. That quote: “Being hit by a lacrosse ball hurts, but not saving it hurts even more.”

Unfortunately for Ricasio, he was just about the only player who was prepared to help defend South Kent’s title in 1996, as graduation had stolen all but two other players from that team and suddenly, that goal he was defending seemed to triple in size.

“Graduation really wiped us out after that championship run and I think we won just one game that next year,” reflected Ricasio, who was elected team captain that season. “We took our lumps but I know from my standpoint, the team’s overall inexperience really gave me the opportunity to stand up and show what I could do as a goalie.”

It allowed everyone around him to see what he could do as well, as Ricasio earned both All-Western New England and AllFounders League laurels that season, “and then at my graduation ceremony I received the two awards that I really wanted the most when I started out at South Kent: The Studio Art Award (Art Prize) and The Lacrosse Cup (Team MVP).”

“Vinnie was absolutely tenacious in goal,” remembers Father Steve Klots, the school chaplain, who became a member of the South Kent faculty during Ricasio’s junior year and served as an assistant coach of the Cardinals lacrosse team. “He played with determination, dedication and a real passion for the game and those characteristics were the reasons why his teammates elected him as their captain.

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“Away from the field of competition, Vinnie was a great friend to everyone and one of the most popular people on campus,” added Klots. “He embraced this school the day he arrived here as a freshman and he still embraces it today … he and his family come up to the Kent area quite often and frequently take part in alumni events. To me, Vinnie will always be the model South Kent boy.”

Although all’s well that ends well, it didn’t take Ricasio much time into his freshman year to realize just how much he didn’t know about lacrosse. “Many of my teammates were from lacrosse hotbeds throughout the country, but New York City wasn’t considered one of them,” said Ricasio. “So, they took me under their collective wing and made sure I was on the same page as everyone else and for their efforts I will be forever grateful.”

Ricasio will be eternally indebted to those teammates for their interest in his artwork, as well.

“They were the first group of people who showed an interest in my drawings … they were my first target audience,” said Ricasio.

“This was an audience that ironically isn’t known for its artistic creativity, but they absorbed what I did and pushed me to pursue this career path.”

What Ricasio did with a pencil proved more mesmerizing than what he did with a stick, as he drew pictures … lacrosse pictures … all sorts of lacrosse pictures and when he had finished them he would hang them on his dorm room walls. And when teammates stopped by and saw them, they were impressed and would ask Ricasio if he could draw a similar picture for them — but with their number on the jersey. In that way, they could proudly hang those pictures on their dorm room doors — and inform all visitors that that drawing was of them.

Somewhere during those conversations between artist and customer, Ricasio would inevitably hear that question that makes the business world turn: “What do you want for this?”

“Back then, there were no ATMs,” quipped Ricasio, “so we settled on what seemed to be the next best thing: food. The cafeteria food wasn’t all that great, so we settled on snack foods … such as popcorn, candy and soda … that you could eat in your dorm room. And to this day, some of those teammates are still fans and customers of my work, still giving me the same confidence and enthusiasm they did 25 years ago.”

For all intents and purposes, Ricasio’s graduation from South Kent brought an end to his scholar/athlete career as he returned to NYC and spent his collegiate days at the Pratt Institute’s School of Art and Design in Brooklyn, which does not compete in athletics.

That didn’t end his close association with the game, however.

Ricasio drops his pencils and brushes at his office every afternoon during the spring to serve as the head coach of the Keio Academy of New York boy’s lacrosse team. In addition, he has also spent much of the past 20 years founding numerous recreational teams and leagues for grade school, high school and post collegiate level players throughout the New York City area and that latter group includes the Brooklyn Lacrosse Club that competes in the elite American Lacrosse League, which Ricasio is also listed as team president and goaltender.

In addition to being his favorite pastime as well as the focus of his business endeavor, there’s one other important role that lacrosse has played in Ricasio’s life, that of matchmaker. It’s through the sport that he met his wife, Rachel.

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Ricasio finding new customers at LaxCon

“Rachel and I met back in 2003,” said Ricasio. “We had both founded our respective club lacrosse teams in New York City. I founded the Rhinos Men’s Lacrosse Club and Rachel had founded Gotham Women’s Lacrosse. One night I was researching lacrosse in New York City online and her team came up. I emailed her to pitch the idea of how our teams should form some sort of lacrosse network in a city that lacked lacrosse. She responded by inviting me and my teammates to a fundraiser that her team was having at a bar in Midtown-Manhattan to discuss my plan.”

During the fundraiser, Ricasio informed Rachel that he played goalie, to which she promptly invited him to their Sunday night practice because their goalie was a frequent no-show. And so, he took her up on her offer.

“One Sunday night practice with them led to many more practice sessions,” said Ricasio, whose two young sons, Reid and Nathan, are following in mom and dad’s footsteps by playing lacrosse in the Pelham Youth program. “And after each practice session would end around 7:30 p.m., I was invited to join a group of 20 women at a bar and grill just down the street from the practice field and where Rachel and I would be the last ones left around midnight and knowing work was just hours away. I think that’s when we knew … and the rest, as they say, is history.”

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NEPSAC News | Spring 2021 | 17

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BRIMMER & MAY SCHOOL | CHESTNUT HILL, MASSACHUSETTS

Brimmer Humanities Symposium Shines a Light on Equity in Women’s Sports

by Sue Cuyler, Director of Marketing & Communications & Nicole DeCesare, Associate Director of Marketing & Communications at Brimmer and May School

E

very January, Brimmer and May School, a PK-12 day school in Chestnut Hill, MA, hosts the Bissell Grogan Humanities Symposium for their Middle and Upper School students and the adult community. Established in 2006 in honor of Kenyon Bissell Grogan ’76, a Brimmer alumna and former Chair of their Board of Trustees, the goal of the Symposium is to both educate and engage students in timely, relevant topics such as ethics, global peace, and environmental stewardship. Typically, the Symposium includes a keynote speech followed by workshops that give students an opportunity to discuss present-day issues with academicians, business and health professionals, and other experts in their fields of study. During this very different academic year, Brimmer reimagined their annual Symposium into a Virtual Speaker Series featuring four exciting keynotes that shined a spotlight on their school-year theme, Building an Equitable Community, and included talks on activism, art, democracy, and women’s sports. Earlier keynotes featured Lawrence Alexander, Director of Equity and Inclusion at Carney, Sandoe & Associates, on Everyday Activism: Moving from Talk to Walk; internationally

recognized muralist & visual artist Raúl the Third on Community as Inspiration: How to Create Artwork that Reflects our Diverse Communities; and Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org, on The Future of Democracy.

Brimmer’s fourth and final keynote featured a panel discussion on equity in women’s sports with WNBA player Shey Peddy, NESN executive Celeste Gehring, and Brimmer’s very own Lindsay Horbatuck, former pro basketball player, current third grade teacher, and coach of Brimmer’s Varsity Girls Basketball team. Moderator Cassie Abodeely, Director of Brimmer Summer & Auxiliary Programs and a former college and semi-professional athlete, opened the program by sharing the Title IX video 37 Words that Changed Everything, kicking off a heartfelt discussion about what drove each woman to play sports and the impact of that landmark ruling on their experiences.

Horbatuck, a three-sport high school athlete and four-year varsity starter, credits enormous support from her high school coaches and AAU coaches as leading her to play Division 1 basketball for Bucknell University, where she was a two-year

Brimmer coach Lindsay Horbatuck in action

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NEPSAC News | Spring 2021 | 19

an example to my younger cousins of how hard work pays off.” A 2012 graduate of Temple University, where she was twice named Big 5 Player of the Year and A10 Player of the Year, Peddy was immediately drafted to the WNBA, where she won the WNBA championship in 2019 with the Washington Mystics. Now with the Phoenix Mercury, she is also in her ninth year playing for a professional team overseas. In fact, Peddy joined us straight from Turkey after sprinting home from practice to be a part of our panel discussion. Ever the role model, Peddy enjoys her status as a veteran on this overseas team. “It’s an opportunity to help the younger players understand how to navigate not only the coaches but their own physical and mental health.” And those younger cousins she hoped to inspire? One of them just happens to be Brimmer alum and current Providence College Varsity Basketball star AJ Reeves ’18.

Horbatuck had a similar childhood routine to Peddy, spending summer after summer in hot AAU gyms. “I’m competitive in all facets of my life,” she confesses. “I attribute the work ethic, drive, and determination I bring to my professional life as a teacher and a

WNBA player Shey Peddy

captain. Horbatuck grew up in Connecticut and remembers religiously watching UConn women’s basketball games. “It wasn’t until college that I began hearing about Title IX and connected it to the fact that we had the same locker rooms, practice gyms, and resources as the men’s teams.” Gehring had a similar experience.

“Growing up in a tiny town in Idaho, girls had fewer options than boys,” she remembers. Thanks to a high school teacher who recognized her talent, Gehring landed at Louisiana State University (LSU), where she played Division I basketball, was selected as a

I wanted to help athletes tell their stories coach to playing sports.” She also credits the presence of powerful women in her life, such as her mom, who attended every one of her games, and her first AAU coach in middle school who played Division I basketball. “The lessons I learned from her I carry with me to this day,” she says. After graduating from Bucknell, where she ranked 26th in the nation for rebounds, Horbatuck played professionally in Bulgaria and Australia. When she returned to the US to begin her coaching career, she felt like the timing was

Being exposed to women’s sports on a daily basis will broaden your perspective two-time SEC All-Academic team, and went all the way to the NCAA Sweet 16. “My LSU team had tremendous coaches and resources.

I saw how far women have come and how far we can go.”

Peddy grew up in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood and always believed that sports were a way for her to reach her goals. She graduated from Melrose High School as the all-time leading scorer across both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. “I played basketball all year round, and that kept me in a gym, out of trouble, and thinking about my future,” she says.

“I knew that a college scholarship meant that I could further my education, give back to my parents who supported me, and be

20 | NEPSAC News | Spring 2021

Panelist Celeste Gehring, a NESN executive

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time at LSU, Gehring recalls being told to gain weight for her sport, something she felt hindered her overall performance. Soon thereafter, she was told to lose weight. “The mental anguish of hearing “you’re not good enough” really took its toll,” she says. “It took a while before I learned how to turn that internal recorder off.” Peddy recalls watching the mental stress of maintaining a certain body composition, often determined by coaches, take a toll on her teammates; players were giving their all and were still considered a failure based on their weight. Horbatuck, who was always tall growing up, says she has always felt comfortable in her body. When playing professionally in Bulgaria, she says she remembers her coach telling her she needed to lose weight. “I wasn’t sure what she was looking for given my performance was high. As a female athlete, you know your body better than anyone else, so you need to be mentally strong.”

Coaching allows me to give back to the game that gave me so much Brimmer coach Lindsay Horbatuck

perfect. “I wanted to leave professional basketball at the top of my game. Coaching allows me to give back to the game that gave me so much.”

Gehring relates well to the idea of supporting players in their growth. She started her career in sports broadcasting on networks such as FOX Sports and CNN, and she produced such large-scale events as the Super Bowl, the World Series, and the NBA Finals.

Now at NESN, she manages the remote camera teams covering the Red Sox and the Bruins. But in between all that, she started her own company, Visionary Building, in order to coach others on creating media profiles, amplifying their voice, and increasing their reach and impact. “I wanted to help athletes tell their stories and give them an avenue to go from college to the workplace,” she says. “My path has been a way for me to pivot from being a player myself to being a part of the sports industry in a different way.”

The conversation turned to the topic of managing health and wellness and brought up significant memories for our panel.

“When you are an athlete, your body needs rest and recovery. Sleep and nutrition become vitally important,” says Horbatuck. She went on to recall her senior year of college when she knew she wanted to be an elementary teacher and had to find a way to carve out the time for the required student teaching hours. Fortunately, her coaches were agreeable as long as she maintained her demanding practice schedule. “Student teaching by day and practicing by night, I wasn’t getting enough sleep, and I knew I needed to fuel my body well,” she remembers. “I still say that if I could get through that time in my life, I can get through anything.”

Women in sports often find themselves being judged not only on performance but on physical appearance. During her

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Our students were curious to know the greatest part of being a professional athlete, and our panelists didn’t shy away from sharing both the highlights and the challenges of their experiences. “My priority was to see the world, and I was strategic about how I got there,” says Gehring. “Basketball gave me so many life experiences and so many wonderful connections with women all over the world.” Horbatuck agreed, commenting that her former teammates are her best friends to this day. And she, too, found the life experiences to be invaluable. “Being a part of something bigger than myself was so important to me and to my growth.” Peddy cited her love of travel as well, though she was quick to offer a reality check to anyone who thinks she has time to be a tourist. “A typical day in Turkey includes being in a gym all day. Play, eat, sleep, repeat.” Horbatuck had the same experience in Bulgaria. “It’s not as glamorous as it may sound,” she says. “But getting paid to see another part of the world and playing a game you love is certainly a plus.”

Turning to equity in athletes’ salaries, the panel acknowledged that the struggle is real. According to Peddy, the WNBA is the only option for female basketball players coming out of college. But with starting salaries as low as $58,000, it is no surprise players head overseas to boost their income. “When a top WNBA player is making $250,000 a year while NBA players sitting on the bench are making millions, you can understand why we continue to fight for equal pay,” says Peddy.

In closing, our panelists explained how students, regardless of their gender, can all help create equity in sports by taking simple steps. “If you are interested in a sport, consider watching a women’s game and following a woman athlete on social media,” suggests Horbatuck.” Peddy agrees. “Being exposed to women’s sports on a daily basis will broaden your perspective,” she says.

“Believe in us. Believe in our talent. Women’s sports can be just as exciting as men’s sports.”

NEPSAC News | Spring 2021 | 21

BELMONT HILL SCHOOL | BELMONT, MASSACHUSETTS

Two Sport Standout Field Yates Takes a Seat — at ESPN SPONSORED BY SPORTSGRUB

by Bob York

22 | NEPSAC News | Spring 2021

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F

ield Yates can’t ever remember a time when he hasn’t envisioned sports occupying an integral part of his life. After playing four years of football and lacrosse at both Belmont Hill School (’05) and Wesleyan University (’09), however, this psychology major reached the conclusion that any prolonged future he might enjoy in athletics wouldn’t be as a player.

So, in a bid to step back — but not step away — from the rivalry and revelry of the athletic arena, Yates opted for a new approach to the game: as a coach. And, ironically, his employment as a mentor would take him to a level of the sport he could only have dreamed of achieving as a player: the National Football League.

Despite having earned All-Independent School League laurels as a tight end and linebacker during his Belmont Hill career, Yates saw the handwriting on the wall during his collegiate days as far as talent was concerned. He wasn’t the least bit hesitant about sharing the confidence he had acquired throughout the years pertaining to the Xs and Os of the game with the NFL, however.

And so, he reached out to those clubs expressing his interest in coaching and the Kansas City Chiefs brought him on board following his graduation from Wesleyan.

“I’m so appreciative of the Chiefs for taking a chance on me and giving me the opportunity to put my football education into action,” said Yates. “The time I spent with them gave me a fantastic opportunity to learn about coaching and scouting in the NFL from the ground up.”

Yates’s first season with the Chiefs was spent with the team’s scouting department as an in-house scout where wannabes essentially learn the building blocks of player evaluation. His second season, meanwhile, was spent as head coach Todd Haley’s assistant on the coaching staff. That ranking would find Yates spending game days in the coaching box, where he charted defensive plays as well as opponents’ tendencies.

The two years Yates spent with the Chiefs didn’t mark his first tour of duty with an NFL team, however. He debuted as an intern at New England Patriots training camps during his summers in high school and college as his home in Weston, Mass., was located about a good “Hail Mary” from the Patriots’ training facilities in Foxboro.

“I spent my first two summers in the Patriots’ scouting department and two more with the coaching department,” explained Yates. “I was on the field for every practice and sat in on team meetings and the experience afforded me an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of both coaching and scouting duties.”

Yates explained that his gig with the Patriots resulted from “simply being in the right place at the right time … I was picked out of the crowd to serve as a ball boy during one of their rookie mini camps,” and the rest is history.

Following his second year with the Chiefs, Yates decided to add a new wrinkle to his resume, as he opted to make the move from coaching football to covering it. In so doing, he spent the first two months of 2012 sending out 39 emails to television stations and NFL beat writers throughout New England in hopes of obtaining a sponsor to help him secure a ringside seat at the NFL Draft in April. The bad news was that of those 39 emails, Yates

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received just one response. The good news was that one was all he needed.

That lone reply came from Mike Reiss, who reports on the Patriots for all ESPN platforms and who played a pivotal role in helping launch ESPNBoston.com. His signature work can be found on ESPN. com’s NFL Nation Patriots blog, while he also makes regular appearances on SportsCenter and NFL Live.

“Up until I received that email from Field, I had no idea who he was nor did I know anything about him,” said Reiss, “but I enjoyed the letter … I enjoyed reading about his passion for football. And the timing of it was great … right before the draft. So, I wrote back and said, ‘let’s meet,’ … and we did. I could tell he was a real student of the game … I could tell how much the opportunity meant to him, so I was happy to invite him to join me at Gillette Stadium and sit in on the draft ” “Mike and I have not only become staunch allies but we’ve become very close friends over the years,” acknowledged Yates, who got his first assignment with ESPN shortly after the draft by teaming up with Reiss and writing for ESPN Boston. “I wouldn’t have gotten where I am today without Mike’s help … he got me up and running,” added Yates, who has kept his foot on the gas and has become one of the busiest guys on the ESPN campus.

Ever since he began playing the game at age 7, Yates says he has lived by the slogan, “if it’s football … it’s for me,” and he hasn’t disappointed the ESPN brass with that approach. Today, that attitude has supplied Yates with one of the company’s more burgeoning studio schedules, as he is directly related to no less than a half-dozen ESPN TV and radio shows. The highlight of which is ESPN2’s award-winning Sunday morning pregame show “Fantasy Football Now.” “Field continues to be a star on the rise, providing our NFL team with so much versatility,” said Seth Markman, ESPN’s vice president of production, after Yates recently signed a multiyear extension to his contract. “He maintains a high standard of excellence across every aspect of his multi-faceted role.”

What Markman was implying was that Yates, who can be found in his ESPN office six days a week from the beginning of August through the Super Bowl, does an exceptional job with an exceptional number of jobs. He also co-hosts “Fantasy Focus Football,” and ESPN Radio’s “Primetime.” The credits also name him as a contributor to the “Monday Night Football” pregame show “Monday Tailgate,” “NFL Live,” and “SportsCenter,” as well as “The Fantasy Show with Matthew Berry.”

Due to Covid-19, however, this past year hasn’t exactly been a typical day at the office for Yates and his ESPN associates.

“Covid’s had an immense daily impact on all of us here at ESPN,” said Yates, “but speaking to how it has impacted me personally, my routine is decidedly different than it was in previous years.

While ESPN has done an incredible job of reopening our facilities in a manner that is safe for those who have been permitted back on campus and in studio, we are still limited to a certain number of people and all work is done in a socially distant manner.

“The amount of time spent on campus has reduced my time on campus as well,” added Yates, “but I’m immensely appreciative

NEPSAC News | Spring 2021 | 23

that we are still able to produce quality content on television as well as on our digital and social media and on the radio.”

Another facet of Yates’s responsibilities falls under his role as an ESPN Insider. That means he is accountable for contributing analysis, breaking NFL news and fantasy football insight throughout the year as well as throughout ESPN’s multimedia platforms.

Reiss’s coverage of the Patriots, meanwhile, began back in 1997 when he was writing for the team’s official newspaper and since that time has done the same for the MetroWest Daily News and the Boston Globe and he knew the night of the draft that Yates would be someone special when it came to covering the NFL. “I’ll never forget that night,” said Reiss, “I thought it was going to be a learning experience for Field, but he taught me something that night, too.

“It was the second round of the draft,” remembers Reiss, “and the Chiefs were on the clock with the 44th pick. I was trying to figure out just who that pick might be when Field, who had spent the past two years working with the Chiefs, tells me, ‘I think Jeff Allen would be a great choice for the Chiefs … he’s a 6-4, 300-pound guard out of the University of Illinois. He’s quick for his size and can slide out to play tackle as well. I think he’s just what the Chiefs would be looking for to help bolster their offensive line.’

“Well,” added Reiss, “the pick comes in and guess who the Chiefs pick? Yup, it was Jeff Allen. I must say, I was impressed.”

Allen ended up playing in all 16 games his rookie season with the Chiefs and moved into a starting role at left guard by Week 4. He played seven years in the NFL, announcing his retirement following the Chiefs Super Bowl LIV win over the San Francisco 49ers in 2019.

“I think if Field had decided to stick with coaching, he would have been an incredible one … at any level of the game,” said Reiss. “He’s a real student of the game … he learned it from the

24 | NEPSAC News | Spring 2021

ground up and that’s a good thing from the media standpoint, too. I run a lot of stuff by him because I really respect his opinion. More importantly, I respect him as a person. He’s a tremendous guy … we’ve become great friends.”

Sports in general and football in particular got a toehold on Yates sometime between the age of 7 and 9. It stuck with him through his years of Pop Warner football in Weston and then on to Belmont Hill. It was during his career with the Sextants that he came into his own, earning All-League laurels in the ISL, which one of NEPSAC’s most highly contested prep school conferences.

“Field was always invested in the Xs and Os … he was always scheming about ways of improving plays,” said Chris Butler, who was Yates’s football and lacrosse coach at Belmont Hill, “and I have no doubt if he had stayed with coaching he would have been an outstanding one … college or pro.

“With his blocking and catching abilities, he proved to be an outstanding tight end for us,” added Butler. “It was on the defensive side of the ball where he really shined, however. He played outside linebacker and whether he was rushing the quarterback, stopping the run or dropping back to cover a receiver, he had a real nose for the ball.”

It was the same old story on the BHS lacrosse field, according to Butler of the kid who was who named captain and MVP his senior year. “He might not have been the biggest or strongest kid on the field,” said Yates’s former coach, “but the way he played the game, I always made sure he was matched up against our opponent’s top scorer.”

Butler remembers Yates for traits unrelated to sports as well, such as remaining close to the school after all these years.

“Field was a great all-around kid when he attended school here and he still remains close to the school and its community,” said Butler. “Just a few weeks ago in fact, he spoke to the kids via a virtual school meeting and they were really thought it was cool when they discovered he had graduated from Belmont Hill.”

“I love keeping in touch with the teachers, the coaches and the students of Belmont Hill,” said Yates. “The school played a big part of my life. It has an atmosphere for learning … an atmosphere for community … an atmosphere for strong studentteacher relationships. I look back and feel very fortunate I had the opportunity to spend my high school days there.”

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SportsGrub provides athletic teams with nutritional meals delivered directly to their event. We provide a diverse menu that athletes can order from directly in our app. Don’t just play to win, plan to win with healthy and delicious meals from SportsGrub.

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PHILLIPS ACADEMY | ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS

“Boy Wonder” Jim McLane, Olympic Gold Medalist, Dies at 90

by David Fox

I

n the summer of 1945, [Phillips Andover] Head of School Claude Fuess was presented with an odd request. An incoming 9th grader, James “Jim/Jimmy” McLane ’49, who was already a National Champion, was scheduled to swim in an international competition, but he had no team to represent. Might Mr. Fuess allow Jim to represent Andover?

Although hesitant to establish a precedent, Mr. Fuess acquiesced and allowed Jim to matriculate early. Aware of his new allegiances, upon winning an event at the meet, Jim climbed onto the podium with an “A” taped to his sweatshirt.

So began Jim’s Andover career.

Life Before Andover

Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Jim settled in Akron, OH and began to swim. At the 1944 National AAU outdoor long-distance championships, 13-year-old Jim won the four-mile-swim. While sitting on the dock recuperating, a stranger came up behind him and placed his finger on Jim’s neck.

When Jim asked what he was doing, the stranger responded, “I’m Robert Kiphuth, coach of the Yale swimming team, and I’m taking your recovery rate.” Thus launched a critical relationship in Jim’s life.

As Jim told Coach Kiphuth’s biographer, Peter Kennedy, in 2016, “I was going through a bad period… I was having difficulty with my coach [in] Akron… I was looking for another coach. I called Bob Kiphuth, and Kiphuth said ‘for Heaven’s sake come on down to New Haven…’ He basically became my father for the next ten years.” In addition to being among the handful of most influential people in the history of swimming, Coach Kiphuth knew Andover. His son had captained Andover’s 1936 team that went 7-1, and the coach introduced Jim to the school and helped secure the financial assistance Jim needed in order to attend.

Andover: the Early Years

Most 9th-graders at Andover do not have a reporter from Life magazine shadow them for 48-hours in order to write a profile. Jim did, and you can read the article, which starts on page 75. At his

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first Andover meet, Jim broke the school record in the 200-yard freestyle and continued to break it in each subsequent meet. With one exception. As the Phillipian notes, “It’s a shame that the gun didn’t go off to warn Jim McLane of his last 50 yards in the 200 freestyle event… last Saturday [against Deerfield], thus causing him to swim two extra pool lengths.”

In the summer of 1946, Jim, nicknamed “Fishy” during his first year at Andover, went to a meet in Havana. Swimming the

NEPSAC News | Spring 2021 | 27

800-meter freestyle in front of a crowd of thousands that included, as Jim liked to note, Ernest Hemingway, he broke his first World record. You can watch the newsreel of it.

Back at Andover, on Saturday, 22 February 1947, Jim broke the National High School record in the 440-yard freestyle by seven seconds with a 4:49.3. Later that season, Jim established a new National High School record in the 200-yard free in 2:00.3. Before he graduated from Andover, Jim went on to break his national record in the 440 two more times, his 200 record three more times, and he added the 220-yard free, too.

Andover: 1948

1948 was Jim’s year, though. At Andover, he joined PG Bob Brawner ’48, who went on to hold the World record in breaststroke, 6’5” Richard “Shorty” Thoman ’49, who went on to hold the World record in backstroke as well as in several freestyle relays, and fourteen other swimmers and divers. Together they formed perhaps the best team in the history of high-school swimming. It certainly is the strongest team in Andover’s history. Thanks to the fierce advocacy of their captain, Jim Carroll, the 1948 Team was among the first class to be inducted into Andover’s Hall of Honor.

London: 1948

That summer, between his Upper and Senior years, Jim traveled to London to represent the United States in the Olympic Games.

He won a Gold medal as a member of the 4x200-meter freestyle

28 | NEPSAC News | Spring 2021

relay, which also set the World record, as well as a Silver in the 400-meter freestyle.

It was Jim’s Gold medal and Olympic record-setting performance in the 1500-meter freestyle, though, that solidified his reputation as “perhaps the greatest tactician in swimming.” As the citation for his 1970 induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHoF) describes: “High School boy McLane studied the great John Marshall and found the Australian liked to swim by hugging the lane line on his breathing side. McLane, who had a powerful kick, swam in the next lane and hugged the other side of the same lane line, sprinting out one body length ahead of Marshall. Kicking hard, McLane let his splash frustrate the Australian. McLane won, then swam with Marshall for three years at Yale.”

Jim’s tactical skills were not limited to the pool. During a 2013 interview, Jim said, “I would never do the Olympic parades but hoped my competition did. Those parades would make you stand on your feet for three hours. It was exhausting.” As recently as May, the last time I spoke to him, Jim’s memories of tactics and techniques, of the traits of the other swimmers of his era, was remarkable. He so clearly loved swimming.

Back to Andover

It is hard to glean how the Andover community reacted to Jim’s Olympic performance between 11th and 12th grade. An edition of the Phillipian from October notes—on page 6:

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“Biggest Andover sports news this summer came from London… By copping the grueling 1500-meter freestyle swimming event, Jim McLane became the first Andover undergraduate to ever win an Olympic title. He lost his chance for a double victory when he was upset in the 400-meter freestyle by Hawaiian Bill Smith.”

Jim’s senior season was marked by records, illness, and more records. Out of the pool, he was a member of the varsity football team and a cheerleader. He even threw the shot-put and hammer.

A resident of Bishop, he was a member of Student Congress, and in the “senior superlatives” of the 1949 Pot Pourii, Jim was cited under both “athlete” and “modest.”

An English major at Yale, Jim was also a member of Skull and Bones, the Aurelian Society, the Elizabethan Club, and the Pundits.

Upon graduation, Jim joined the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps during the Korean Conflict, and he continued to swim. In 1955, at the age of 24, Jim won three Gold medals at the Pan Am Games. As Jim’s 1970 ISHoF citation states: “Tired of swimming but preferring it to guard duty and K. P., the old pro swam just long enough and hard enough to win again.”

Jim retired a 21-time AAU National Champion, but as the ISHoF clarifies, his “greatest contribution to swimming was as a high school boy wonder. He was the forerunner of a youth movement that has put U.S. swimming back on top.”

1949-1955

After Swimming

In 1949, Jim, along with John Marshall and Wayne Moore, formed the “three M’s,” the heart of the greatest Yale swimming class in history. (The class of 1953 was so good Jim’s Andover teammate Dick Thoman wasn’t even considered among the top three). Jim captained this freshmen team during the 1950 season. Knowing the strength of his freshmen class, Coach Kiphuth entered both the Yale varsity team (Yale “A”) and the Yale freshmen team (Yale “B”) into the 1950 AAU Swimming Championships, essentially the senior national club championships.

The Yale freshmen beat their elders and won the national championship, a unique accomplishment in the annals of swimming.

Jim’s first three seasons at Yale saw successes, but not ones quite comparable to his teenage years. In 1952, however, Jim was again named an Olympian—in fact, he captained the U.S. team—and traveled to Helsinki. There, Jim placed fourth in the 1500-meter freestyle and seventh in the 400. He was also a member of the 4x200-meter free relay, which successfully defended its Olympic title and set a new World standard.

Helsinki marked the second of two Olympiads in which Jim was the fastest 200-meter freestyler in the United States.

Unfortunately, the 200 as an individual event was not part of the Olympic program in these years. Who knows how Jim would have performed?

Upon his return to Yale for his senior year, Jim built on this second Olympic experience and saw his return to the pinnacle of swimming, winning a collegiate national title. As the New York Times noted on 27 March 1953: “This was McLane’s first national title since entering Yale four years ago. As a schoolboy prodigy…Jimmy won twelve national AAU distance crowns and the 1948 Olympic 1500-meter championship. But although he himself was swimming better than ever, he was overshadowed in varsity competition until this year by Marshall, Moore, and Konno.”

Peter Kennedy’s biography, Kiphuth of Yale, highlights: “Kiphuth labeled McLane as a competitor who thoroughly enjoyed the cunning and calculated pre-race mental preparation…

Kiphuth loved to reminisce about each of his great distance stars and their moments of glory. Kiphuth enjoyed highlighting the ‘mental toughness’ that led to the fantastic comeback of McLane in his farewell to collegiate swimming.”

While in the Army, Jim married his first wife, Barbara. She died in 1981.

In 1956, Jim took a position at Time Life in its advertising and marketing division. Ten years later, he moved to General Mills as its Venture Team Manager and formed the Direct Marketing Division.

When I remember my achievements, I remember the work and training not the medal — that’s what is most valuable.

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Jim was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1975 and retired.

As his second wife, Carol, said in an interview with the Ipswich Local News after Jim’s death: “That put a crimp in his career quite a bit.”

In retirement, Jim volunteered for various healthcare causes, including Massachusetts General Hospital. He also pursued his interests in reading, drama, movies, music, writing, and travel.

He lived in the south of France for a number of years and was a devoted Secretary for the Class of 1949, writing crisp, erudite notes for the Andover Bulletin from Europe and later from his home for the last thirteen years, Ipswich.

Well into his 80s, Jim was an active swimmer at the Ipswich YMCA—he could still cut through the water, leading his lane mates to slip into another lane operating at a slower pace. In recent years, Jim’s health declined, and he had to give up swimming.

“He always found a reason to look at the better aspects of life,” Carol told the Ipswich newspaper. “He just stepped up to the plate.

He really did. He was not one to feel sorry for himself.”

In addition to Carol, Jim is survived by his four children—for whom he was “an adored hero”—a brother and a sister, seven grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

In 2013, back when he was still able to swim at the Y, Jim gave his own interview to the Ipswich Local News. When asked to give his advice to aspiring Olympians, Jim said they should enjoy swimming and focus on the work.

“Medals are important to the average person. They are not very important to me. When I remember my achievements, I remember the work and training not the medal — that’s what is most valuable.”

NEPSAC News | Spring 2021 | 29

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Boston Pride are 2021 Isobel Cup Champions

by NWHL Media

The Boston Pride celebrate winning the 2021 Isobel Cup Final in Boston on Mar 27, 2021. (Michelle Jay/NWHL)

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or the second time in National Women’s Hockey League history, the Boston Pride are Isobel Cup champions skating to a 4–3 victory over the Minnesota Whitecaps at Warrior Ice Arena.

The Pride were also the league’s first winner back in 2016 and became the first team in the league’s six seasons to celebrate a second title.

Captain Jillian Dempsey, the only holdover from the inaugural team, was awarded MVP honors, presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods. She scored the second of the team’s three unanswered goals in the middle frame that paced the Pride to victory and finished her 2021 season with nine total points.

“I guess I was in one of my sweet spots, I like shooting from that spot,” Dempsey said of her goal to reporters post-game.

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“Everybody went out there and did their job and owned their role and battled hard one shift at a time and that was just our mindset and focus going forward. So you know, proud of this whole group.”

When Dempsey accepted the Isobel Cup from NWHL Commissioner Tyler Tumminia she immediately passed it along to teammate Kayleigh Fratkin, a six-year veteran, who finally got to hoist the prestigious prize.

“Boston certainly has become home,” said Fratkin, the league’s top-scoring defenseman. “It’s been amazing to be a part of kind of the growth of where we started when we won four games, I think, when I joined the team in season three to Paul (Mara) joining us in season four and really kind of building a culture and building a winning organization. It’s been awesome to do it alongside Jill and,

NEPSAC News | Spring 2021 | 31

Boston Pride forward Jenna Rheault (St. Paul’s School) with the Isobel Cup. (Michelle Jay/NWHL)

you know, Mary Parker and some of the other players that have been around for a while. I’m speechless.”

Saturday’s game gave everyone the rematch of the 2020 final that was never played. The Pride were set to host the Whitecaps a year ago March 13, however, season five would never award a champion as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think this is one of my favorite victories to be honest with you,” Pride head coach Paul Mara said. “Working with these ladies for the last three years, they deserve everything. For me to watch them grow and watch them improve and watch how hard they work and the dedication they put in is, you know, second to none.”

After exploding for seven goals in their semifinal, the Whitecaps kept the offense rolling when Allie Thunstrom showed off her speed in the first. Rushing one-on-one she created her own space by cutting to the middle in Pride territory and fired a wicked wrister past Lovisa Selander at 7:29.

Just as they did in Friday’s semifinal the tandem of Mary Parker and Tereza Vanisova connected for the Pride’s first goal.

This time with Parker getting the last touch on a goalmouth scramble. Dempsey’s perfectly placed shot over the shoulder of Amanda Leveille gave Boston the lead they would not relinquish at 15:05. Lexie Laing then scored on the power play at 17:31 taking a beautiful cross-ice pass from Christina Putigna who recorded her second straight two-assist game to lead the Pride in 2021 scoring with 12 points over nine games.

“To score first and get that momentum going was helpful and I think even going into the second period we came out strong,” said Whitecaps co-head coach Ronda Engelhardt. “We had a couple of really good chances that we didn’t capitalize on and then they start scoring and that’s where we needed to reset and that’s where we kept fighting.”

The Whitecaps would not back down. Trailing 3-1 in the third they built some momentum on a clutch penalty shot save by Leveille. Eight seconds later Thunstrom scored her second of the night and fourth goal in two games at 7:46.

The Pride converted on another power-play opportunity to restore their two-goal lead at 13:32 when Taylor Wenczkowski buried a rebound off a Fratkin point shot.

32 | NEPSAC News | Spring 2021

Meaghan Pezon did make things interesting for the Whitecaps scoring a power-play goal of their own at 19:42 to cut the lead to within one. Minnesota called timeout but fell short on their final push for the equalizer.

“We are a team of fighters,” Whitecaps defenseman Winny Brodt-Brown said. “Like all of these players have been playing through adversity all of our careers and that’s why you continued to see us in the bubble fight back from behind and I think that’s just a credit to the character of the players on our team. We would go to battle with them and it was just a really fun team. And you know for a season that wasn’t ideal we made the best of it.”

The game brought an end to what many consider to be the longest, shortest season. The NWHL’s sixth campaign began with six teams on January 23 in Lake Placid where a total of 15 games were played over 10 days. COVID-19 cases forced a pause, and the league later announced its return and four-team playoff format on March 8. The resiliency of the athletes, determined to finish what they started, made Saturday’s climax special.

It’s awesome for these players,” coach Mara said. “They worked so hard for the last seven months and to achieve what they did tonight is the pinnacle of women’s hockey right now.”

The Isobel Cup Playoffs, presented by Discover, was televised across the United States on NBCSN in primetime with an all-female broadcast team. All female officiating teams skated every game, and the championship’s ceremonial puck drop was performed by Mayor Kim Janey who made history this week becoming the first woman and first Black Mayor in Boston history.

“I think it’s really special now this is something that little girls can look to that Winnie (Brodt-Brown) and I when we were younger, and Ronda (Engelhardt) too, we didn’t have women’s hockey players on the ice (on TV) battling for anything,” said Allie Thunstrom. “Now it’s there and they say if you can see it, you can be it. Even though we didn’t come out on the winning end it was really special to be part of and for all the little girls that want to be out there one day — just keep working.”

NEPSAC ALUMNI ON THE BOSTON PRIDE ROSTER Meaghan Rickard Lauren Kelly Mary Parker Jenna Rheault Jillian Dempsey - C Lexie Laing Sammy Davis Paige Capistran Briana Mastel Victoria Hanson Meghara McManus Mallory Souliotis Asst. Coach Johnny McInnis Head Coach Paul Mara

Williston Northampton School The Winchendon School Noble and Greenough School St. Paul’s School The Rivers School Noble and Greenough School Tabor Academy Loomis Chaffee School Choate Rosemary Hall Lawrence Academy Dexter Southfield School Noble and Greenough School Lawrence Academy Belmont Hill School

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WORCESTER ACADEMY | WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS

Donald “Dee” Rowe fondly remembered as unofficial Worcester ‘ambassador,’ coach, friend

by Jennifer Toland, Telegram & Gazette

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or the last 50 years, Donald “Dee” Rowe lived in Connecticut, not far from UConn, where he served as men’s basketball coach and was an esteemed administrator in the university’s athletics department, but as he always said, he “never really left” his beloved hometown of Worcester.

Until recently, Rowe returned every Wednesday to Worcester Academy, his alma mater, in his role as special assistant to WA’s head of school, to aid with fundraising Dee Rowe wore #8 for Worcester efforts and alumni relations, chat with faculty, staff and students, eat lunch with them in the dining hall, and, of course, to stop by boys’ basketball practice.

Rowe coached the Hilltoppers from 1955-69 and was also director of athletics. Worcester Academy’s basketball court is named in his honor.

“Dee was one of those magnetic people that was really invested in people’s lives,” Worcester Academy head of school Ron Cino said. “People stayed connected with him and he also helped people stay connected with one another and really build community around himself and also amongst the people that were close to him.”

Rowe was, indeed, a lifelong champion of Worcester Academy, an ambassador for the game of basketball and a true friend to thousands.

“Dee Rowe was revered, not just admired by so many who saw his passion for life,” Worcester Academy director of athletics Ed Reilly said, “and his unparalleled gift for giving to others.”

Rowe passed away Sunday at his home in Storrs. He was 91.

“Dee was the most special, sweetest, gentlest and most compassionate man,” said Holy Cross and Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy, who was a close friend of Rowe. “He was the nicest man perhaps I’ve ever known.”

Rowe was selected by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as the recipient of the 2017 John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award. He was a member of the Worcester Academy, UConn, ECAC and New England Basketball halls of fame.

“In addition to his professional accomplishments that we’re all aware of,” Cousy said, “he was just a sweet man.”

Rowe was born in Worcester in 1929 and learned basketball at Thorndyke Road School from his gym teacher, Buster Sheary,

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the former Holy Cross coach.

After HC won the 1947 NCAA championship, Rowe was among the fans who greeted the Crusaders upon their arrival home at Union Station.

“He used to love to tell that story,” Cousy said.

The ’47 Holy Cross team, and its players, had a great influence on Rowe.

“Basketball in Worcester has always been such a special thing,” Rowe said in a 2017 interview.

Rowe was an honorary pallbearer at Sheary’s funeral in 2001.

Rowe graduated from Worcester Academy in 1947. He went on to play at Middlebury College, where he met the love of his life, his wife, Ginny, who passed away in 2018. They had seven children and 17 grandchildren. Three of their grandsons graduated from Worcester Academy.

After graduating from Middlebury and earning a master’s degree from Boston University, Rowe returned to Worcester Academy and led the Hilltoppers to prep school prominence. His teams went 180-44 and won nine New England Prep School championships in 13 seasons. Rowe also coached baseball at WA. In 1969, Rowe became men’s basketball coach at UConn and during his eight seasons guided the Huskies to a pair of NIT berths and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. After stepping down as UConn’s coach in 1978, he launched the fundraising arm of UConn athletics, played a key role in raising money to build the school’s on-campus basketball arena, Gampel Pavilion, and was a member of the search committees that brought Hall of Fame basketball coaches Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma to UConn.

After “retiring” from UConn in 1991, Rowe remained actively involved at the school in his emeritus role as special adviser for athletics.

Tom Moore, who served as a Huskies assistant under Calhoun from 1994-2007 and returned to UConn in 2018 to join Dan Hurley’s staff, grew up in Millbury and shared a special Central Mass. connection with Rowe.

“For 30 years,” Moore said, “he always introduced me as ‘a Worcester guy.’ I would say, ‘Actually, Coach, Millbury.’ He would say, ‘You’re a Worcester guy.’”

In 1994-95, UConn faced UCLA in the Elite Eight. Rowe was sitting next to Moore on the team bus as it rode from the hotel to the arena in Oakland, where the game would be played.

NEPSAC News | Spring 2021 | 33

I was looking at the timing sheet,” Moore said. “The header on it was ‘UCLA vs. UConn.’ Coach leaned over, he looked at it and he said, ‘Thomas, do you know where you are right now? That’s not Tatnuck Elementary vs. Chandler Elementary (referring to the Worcester schools).’

“At that time, me and him were probably the only two people in the state of California who appreciated that line,” Moore recalled fondly.

Upon hearing of Rowe’s passing Sunday, Hurley asked Moore to address the team and share perspective on Rowe with the current players. Rowe attended UConn practices through last season, Moore said.

“I said to them the thing about him was he loved the things that he loved,” Moore said, “and it came out of every pore of his being.

He loved his wife and his children and his grandchildren. He loved his roots, the city of Worcester and Worcester Academy. He loved UConn. He loved the game of basketball, which a lot of people do, but he loved coaches. I never met anyone in our profession who cared as deeply about coaches, coaches and their families.”

Worcester Academy boys’ basketball coach Jamie Sullivan, who grew up nearby in the Vernon Hill neighborhood, was 23 when he became the Hilltoppers’ junior varsity coach in 1998. From day one, Rowe nurtured, guided and inspired him.

“Both being from Worcester, we always had that in common,” Sullivan said. “He would come in the gym and he just always treated me like gold. He always believed in me, even when I was a part-time JV basketball coach.”

Sullivan, who became varsity coach in 2011, looked forward to Rowe’s weekly visits.

“It was incredible,” Sullivan said. “He would come into our locker room, talk to our players. When we get on that court, ‘Dee Rowe Court,’ looking at that court and thinking about it, he’s from the 508, and he was so special to our school. Being on that court is so special.”

Rowe, a distinguished dresser, was an eloquent orator and also had a wonderful way with the written word (not to mention beautiful penmanship). Sullivan is among those who treasures the handwritten notes and letters he received from Rowe over the years.

“He would write to me to encourage me,” Sullivan said, “to tell me to remember your heritage and how important your roots are, to make sure to take care of your family and be a father figure to your players. It wasn’t about basketball; it was about relationships.”

Cousy initially got to know Rowe through Andy Laska, his former Holy Cross teammate and Rowe’s coaching predecessor at Worcester Academy. While coaching at Boston College, Cousy recruited several of Rowe’s WA players.

They maintained a social relationship for decades and occasionally played golf together at Pleasant Valley Country Club with former PV owner Ted Mingolla, also a Worcester Academy alumnus, Dave Gavitt, one of Rowe’s WA assistants, and Assumption hall-of-famer Joe O’Brien.

Cousy said he last spoke to Rowe on the phone the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Worcester Academy’s Rowe Family Scholarship Golf Tournament has annually drawn hundreds and benefited many Worcester Academy students. For the last seven years or so, Cousy has attended the post-golf dinner with good friend Ken Kaufman.

Rowe would speak at the event, and capture everyone’s attention.

34 | NEPSAC News | Spring 2021

“He was a great speaker,” Cousy said, “and he did it conversationally. It was like you were sitting in his living room. He would call out to all the alumni that were there. He was beloved. He had great respect of the Worcester Academy and UConn alumni.”

Cino, who has been head of school at Worcester Academy for 20 years, previously worked in admissions at Trinity College. When Cino was coming to Worcester Academy, former Trinity basketball coach Stan Ogrodnik gave him some great advice.

“He told me, ‘If there’s one person you want to meet when you get up there right away, it’s Dee Rowe,’” Cino said. “I had the good fortune of meeting Dee early on and came to understand his love for the school and his love for people. Once you were connected with Dee and were his friend and had that mutual respect, he was a great ally and friend no matter what the circumstances, and that became apparent quickly.”

According to the Worcester Academy website, the Rowe family announced that funeral services will be private, but a celebration of Rowe’s life will be held at a future date when the COVID-19 pandemic has abated and conditions allow. “(Sunday’s) news of Dee’s passing was a sad day for so many,” Reilly said. “Dee’s circle of friends and his sphere of influence knew no boundaries. He was blessed with an amazing capacity to bring out the very best in everyone he came in contact with.

His kindness and genuine concern for others was his calling card and he leaves a legacy of goodness we should all aspire to. We will miss his smile, his quick wit and his presence, and will forever celebrate his life and his significant contributions.”

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NEPSAC News | Spring 2021 | 35

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KENT SCHOOL | KENT, CONNECTICUT

Kena Gilmour ’16 Honored with First LGBTQ Award from NCAA

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amilton College men’s basketball All-American Kena Gilmour ’20 was selected the recipient of the 2020 Division III LGBTQ Student-Athlete of the Year Award on Wednesday, Jan. 13.

Gilmour’s award honors the academic achievements, athletics excellence and service/leadership of LGBTQ student-athletes. A student-athlete, a coach and a university were recognized as the inaugural Division III LGBTQ OneTeam Recognition Award winners at the NCAA Convention in January.

“Kena is one of the most outstanding student-athletes ever to attend Hamilton and someone who epitomizes a true student-athlete experience,” Hamilton Head Men’s Basketball Coach Adam Stockwell said. “His journey embodies the Hamilton motto of ‘Know Thyself’ and we are extremely excited for Kena in receiving this award.”

The award caps an outstanding four-year career for Gilmour, who was also chosen the male winner of the 2020 Jostens Trophy last March. The Jostens Trophy is a national award that takes into account basketball ability, academic prowess and community service.

Gilmour was a three-time member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) all-district team, the D3hoops.com all-region team and the all-NESCAC team. The government major and women’s and gender studies minor finished with a cumulative grade point average of 3.70 and earned a spot on the NESCAC winter all-academic team three times. The New Paltz, N.Y., native

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was voted to the 2019-20 Academic All-America® NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America and placed on the first team.

Gilmour led the Continentals to four NESCAC championship appearances including the 2019 tournament final, and the team advanced to the third round of the NCAA championship in Gilmour’s sophomore and junior years. Gilmour collected all-America awards from the coaches and D3hoops.com in 2019 when he was named the NABC district and NESCAC player of the year. Gilmour finished his career in fifth place on the team’s all-time scoring list with 1,935 points, and he helped lead the Hamilton men to an overall record of 81-28.

Some of Gilmour’s community service highlights were Clinton Elementary School’s “Fun Fridays”, which allows students to see college athletes as role models, and participation in relief and fundraising efforts for at least six organizations. Gilmour worked with former Hamilton Associate Athletic Director Dr. Miriam Merrill to create the Athletes of Color Initiative, a support group for students of color at the College. He was a residential advisor for Hamilton’s Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), which provided live-in guidance and support to 40 pre-matriculated students.

Article courtesy of Hamilton College Sports Information Photo Credit: Josh McKee, www.mckeephotoarts.com

NEPSAC News | Spring 2021 | 37

WILLISTON NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL | EASTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS

More Than a Runner

by Kevin Markey

Sidney Baptista ’05 is bringing running—and community empowerment—to his Boston neighborhood

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ith a leg up from Sidney Baptista ’05, runners from all walks of life and levels of experience came together last fall on behalf of racial justice in Boston.

An entrepreneur, marathoner, and host of the podcast Fitness in Color, Baptista put together the city’s More Than a Run 5K road race. The virtual event—participants completed solo runs, then logged their results on a digital platform—raised more than $50,000 for three area organizations: Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy, a tuition-free charter school committed to culture-based education; Violence in Boston, a nonprofit that serves families affected by urban trauma; and Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research.

“As runners, we love to be together,” says Baptista, who in 2017 founded Pioneers Run Crew, a club centered in Dorchester, the predominantly Black and immigrant Boston neighborhood where he grew up. When the pandemic curtailed club activities, members found themselves cut off from that camaraderie. The loss took on special urgency amid the summer’s reckoning over the killings of unarmed Black people in the U.S. The murder of Ahmaud Arbery struck especially close to home: He was gunned down by white men while jogging. “People started asking, ‘How can we help?’” says Baptista. “‘What can we do as runners in the push for racial justice?’”

At Williston, Baptista was known as a sprinter, setting school records at the 100-meter and 200-meter distances and anchoring a record-setting 4-x-100-meter relay team. He proudly recalls the assembly when Athletic Director Mark Conroy called him “the fastest man in Williston history.” He took up distance running in 2014, in part to help manage the stress and moments of selfdoubt he felt after leaving a comfortable career at consulting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers to start his own business. “Williston, college, PwC, there was always a path,” he observes. “And suddenly there wasn’t.” Within a year, he ran his first marathon.

While pounding out training mileage around Boston, Baptista encountered very few Black runners. Distance running for years has been dominated by Africans—eight of the top ten male finishers at the most recent Boston Marathon were from Kenya or Ethiopia—but among amateurs the sport remains overwhelmingly White. One of the barriers, Baptista says, is representation. “In my neighborhood, you can see a basketball player, you can be a rapper. Representation matters.” He started Pioneers Run Crew to help normalize running in the Black community. “I wanted to share the joy running brings me,” he says.

The team’s name pays tribute to the New York Pioneer Club, founded by three African American men in 1936 as one of the country’s first integrated athletic organizations. Among its biggest

38 | NEPSAC News | Spring 2021

stars was Ted Corbitt, Olympian, marathon champion, and grandson of enslaved people.

From a gathering of a few diehards, the Dorchester group has grown to include a revolving cast of some 500 athletes. It hosts free weekly training sessions, is active in neighborhood clean-up events, spearheads fundraising initiatives like the More Than a Run 5k, and has launched an athleisure wear company that aims, says Baptista, “to build equity and ownership in the Black community.” The club’s pre-pandemic group runs through the neighborhood routinely brought people out onto their porches to cheer. Its activities have gained notice well beyond Dorchester, and recently PRC was written up in Runners World magazine.

Not long ago, Baptista received a letter from a young club member. She wrote, “When you think of a runner, who do you picture? If you asked me before May of 2018, I would not have described anyone who looks like myself. The spring day when I first joined Pioneers Run Crew marked the start of my journey as a runner. At that moment I became part of a community committed to uplifting one another in all aspects of life. Yes, we run together.

Yes, we like personal records. Yes, we like to have fun. But what fuels us is our love for our community.”

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NEPSAC News | Spring 2021 | 39

GREENWICH COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL | GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT

GCDS Announces Largest Single Gift in the History of the School

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reenwich Country Day School and NBA superstar Donovan Mitchell (GCDS class of 2012), are thrilled to announce the largest single pledge of support to the school in the history of the institution. Donovan and his family (mother Nicole and sister Jordan—GCDS Class of 2017) have pledged $12,000,000 to help the school achieve ambitious goals.

Mitchell, an NBA slam dunk champion, runner-up in Rookie of the Year balloting, and a 2019-2020 NBA All-Star, attended Greenwich Country Day from third to ninth grade (the school has since added a high school). A star athlete, Donovan was also an exceptional musician and as Head of School Adam Rohdie describes, “as great an athlete as he was, Donovan was an even nicer young man. He is a man of the highest character and he has lived his life embodying the Country Day creed of TIGER PRIDE which asks our students to be kind, empathetic, respectful, thoughtful, and to act with the highest levels of integrity.”

Mitchell’s mother Nicole was a Lower Elementary school teacher at GCDS from 2007 until just last year. Rohdie describes her as one of the warmest and most caring educators he has worked with. Generations of Country Day’s youngest children have been impacted by her kindness.

Mitchell, a champion of education and of providing access to the best possible education for children from all backgrounds and from under-served neighborhoods, is excited to create the

40 | NEPSAC News | Spring 2021

Mitchell Family Scholarship Fund. This program will help GCDS remain a leader in providing need-based aid for students in grades Nursery through 12. Additionally, Donovan and Nicole are pleased to announce the Nicole Mitchell Faculty Support Fund.

This monetary award will be made yearly at the opening faculty meeting and will be given to a teacher in each division (4) in the school who have been at GCDS for at least 3 years, and have demonstrated the “passion, enthusiasm, optimism, and love for children always shown by Nicole Mitchell.” Head of School Adam Rohdie shared, “these two funds perfectly highlight Donovan’s understanding of the power of a great education. This gift will allow GCDS to reach an even broader cross-section of students and it allows us to celebrate those teachers that make the magic at our school every day.”

Finally, this gift will also allow GCDS to build the D.O.N.! The Determination Over Negativity Mitchell Family Athletic Center will be a state-of-the-art gymnasium and will house one full court (NCAA regulation court) with full stands on both sides. When the curtain is dropped it will house two full courts running north to south. This building will also provide the space for the entire campus to gather for school-wide assemblies and will be a focal point for our Old Church Road Campus.

Donovan shared, “I know how lucky I have been to have the foundation of my education happen here at Country Day.

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This school has shaped who I am in so many ways, and I feel blessed to be able to give back and make the Country Day experience available for more kids especially those from inner-city neighborhoods or with backgrounds like mine. Over the past few years on my NBA journey, I have made it my mission to champion the causes of equity, social justice, and equal opportunity, especially in education. There is no better school anywhere to carry forward this mission and my family is excited to make this happen.”

Bio Brief: Donovan Mitchell

A 6-foot-3 guard from the University of Louisville, Donovan Mitchell took the NBA by storm during his rookie season. Mitchell led all rookies in scoring at 20.5 points per game, and he was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December, January, February, and March/April. Mitchell scored at least 25 points 27 times and dropped 41 points in a home win over the Pelicans on December 1.

The Denver Nuggets selected Mitchell with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft—and then immediately traded him to the Jazz. He won the 2018 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, and he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.

Mitchell was born on September 7, 1996 in Westchester County, New York. His mother, Nicole, was a Prekindergarten teacher at Greenwich Country Day School, and his father, Donovan Sr., works as director of player relations for the New York Mets.

Mitchell played baseball and basketball growing up, but chose to pursue basketball at Louisville, where he was named First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference as a sophomore.

Mitchell’s jersey number is 45, which he wears in honor of Michael Jordan, who wore the number while playing baseball and when he first returned to the NBA in 1995. Mitchell goes by the nickname “Spida,” which has become an official entry on dictionary.com.

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Nutrition Myths – Diet Trends

by TrueSport

W

hen it comes to diet trends, it’s nearly impossible to keep up. One minute, juicing is the latest and greatest, and the next time you pick up a magazine, there’s a whole new food group to avoid. It can be easy for adults and young athletes alike to assume that the diet trend of the moment is a good idea. But of course, we know that the best diet is a healthy, balanced, sustainable one—and that rarely are trends healthy in the long term.

Another thing to keep in mind: How you eat and how you talk about your body and your food will impact your athlete, whether you mean it to or not. It’s also important to note that a diet that is healthy for you may not be the right one for an athletic, growing child. “What you do as an adult does not apply to your kids, especially if they are active,” says TrueSport Expert Kristen Ziesmer, a registered dietitian and board-certified specialist in sports dietetics. If you are on a specific diet for some reason, make sure your athlete understands that they don’t need to eat exactly like you.

An athlete hopping on a diet trend may also be trying to lose weight in an unhealthy way, so if you notice your athlete suddenly becoming interested in a juice cleanse, intermittent fasting, or a restrictive diet, that could be a warning sign of unhealthy behavior. In fact, research has shown that as many as 35 percent of dieters will progress into disordered eating.

Here are a few trendy diets that have popped up in recent years that your athlete should skip.

Low Carb or Keto Diet

A low carbohydrate or ketogenic diet that focuses primarily on fat for fuel, with some protein, can be disastrous for young athletes from a caloric, hormonal, and metabolic standpoint. “Young

athletes definitely need that balanced plate, which includes carbs. And as their activity level increases, the carb requirements go up,” explains Ziesmer. “A low-carb or keto diet is meant for a sedentary person, and again, definitely not for a kid. In fact, kids actually function more off glucose and carbohydrates than adults do.”

But remember, balance is key. Ziesmer notes that fat is also a critical macronutrient, and that the amount needed also goes up the more active your athlete is. And protein should be a constant, with a few palm-sized servings spread throughout the day.

Whole30

“I’ve worked with several athletes who ended up doing a Whole30 diet with their parents,” says Ziesmer. “But that limits a child’s caloric intake far too much.” A diet like the Whole30 that restricts many different food groups, from dairy to certain vegetables, makes it nearly impossible for your child to eat enough to fuel for training, and limits their ability to consume snacks that are healthy during activity, such as granola bars or sports drinks.

Vegan Diet

A vegan diet can be healthy, but it can also be a red flag. “Unfortunately, I’ve seen many girls

About TrueSport TrueSport®, a movement powered by the experience and values of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, champions the positive values and life lessons learned through youth sport. TrueSport inspires athletes, coaches, parents, and administrators to change the culture of youth sport through active engagement and thoughtful curriculum based on cornerstone lessons of sportsmanship, characterbuilding, and clean and healthy performance, while also creating leaders across communities through sport.

For more expert-driven articles and materials, visit TrueSport’s comprehensive library of resources.

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adopt a vegan diet as a way to cut calories or control something in their life. And it basically turns into an eating disorder at that point,” Ziesmer says.

“If an athlete wants to become a vegetarian or vegan, I wouldn’t say that they shouldn’t do it. But I do think that they need to meet with a dietitian to make sure they’re getting all their nutrients and approaching this lifestyle choice in a healthy way. A lot of people don’t know what they’re doing with a vegan diet, so they just wind up eating a plate of vegetables, or a lot of junk—Oreos are vegan!—and they have very little protein. It ends up being very unbalanced.”

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting—limiting the time window when an athlete is eating every day (often only allowing a person between six and eight hours to eat)—can be difficult, especially when an athlete is at school and then at practice, or worse, at two practices each day. A time-limit on eating may mean your athlete skips critical meals, heads to game day with an empty stomach, doesn’t refuel after a practice, or goes to bed hungry. It also means they may not learn to read their own hunger cues properly, relying on a clock instead of their hunger to know when to eat.

Even worse, Ziesmer notes, is the combination of intermittent fasting with any other restrictive diet—which is more common than you may expect.

For instance, combining fasting for 16 hours per day with the Whole30 diet can easily mean that an athlete is eating under 500 calories daily.

Takeaway

Many young athletes are interested and committed to doing everything they can to boost athletic performance, including the latest diet trends, but parents and coaches can help athletes prioritize their health by avoiding unbalanced and unhealthy eating habits. To learn more about proper sports nutrition, download the TrueSport Nutrition Guide and consider meeting with a registered dietitian.

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